China Bars Three Indian Athletes from Asian Games

The Asian Games are on in China and the host country has not given permission to three Indian martial arts athletes from India to attend the games in Hangzhou. The three women, competing as wushu fighters, are from the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, a region claimed almost in full by Beijing as South Tibet. Earlier in July, the Indian wushu team had not been allowed to travel to the Chinese city of Chengdu for the World University Games. The three athletes were issued stapled, rather than pasted, visas – an indication that Beijing does not recognize India’s territorial claim over Arunachal Pradesh. In July 2020, China entered Indian territory at the Galwan post and killed twenty soldiers. PM Modi had refrained from naming China in the Parliament. Since then, in spite of multiple rounds of talks between India and China, regions like Aksai Chin, Pangong Lake fingers in Ladakh, and now Arunachal Pradesh remain contested. This is a major embarrassment for India over its territorial claims and foreign affairs. In the Asian games, breaking the world record by British shooter Seonaid McIntosh of 467 points, Panjab's Sift Kaur Samra of Faridkot shot 469.6 in the final women's 50-meter rifle 3 position event to clinch India’s first individual Gold medal.